Never Say Never
by Kellifer
Summary: Radiation poisoning and daylight hallucinations


Title: Never Say Never (1/1)

Author: Kellifer

Email: (same for MSN addy)

Category: Action / Angst / Romance

Rating: PG+

Summary: Radiation poisoning and daylight hallucinations.

Disclaimer: DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and  
places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret   
Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment No monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the  
author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is  
coincidental and not intended by the author.

-Never Say Never-

_Stay inside me._

"What?"

"I said stay beside me Sir." Major Samantha Carter said, her brow furrowing at her CO. It was a hell of a time for him to be off with the fairies and her look at him reminded him of that. He'd been drifting and his thoughts had been chasing avenues they shouldn't have been. Samantha was elbow-deep in the DHD she was working on and there were parts strewn all around her. She had a smudge of something black on her forehead and that had set Jack off. The silliest things...

"...the pulse regulator?" He'd been doing it again and he'd missed the first part of her question. She looked at him with exasperation and gestured toward a small black device that was by his foot. He assumed she'd been asking for it and snagged it, handing it over. He'd been close to putting his boot right down on it and suspected Sam didn't so much need it, as need to rescue it. This was confirmed when she looked at it critically, before setting it aside in a safer spot. Jack assumed they didn't have a spare. "Sir?" She snapped. He looked up and squinted at her, trying to focus but his vision was getting fuzzy. He balled a fist and slammed it into his own thigh but it didn't help. "You have to take the meds. You're getting worse."

He was about to say 'over my dead body' but then realised that it probably would be. The effect of the planet and the air that was slowly poisoning them was finally getting to him beyond what he could ignore.

They'd come through the 'gate on a planet designated P49-23X. It was a pleasant enough place, lots of trees and tiny blue birds. It was a standard recon and Hammond had thought they'd needed a cake mission after a hectic schedule. None of them would hear of any amount of decent downtime so it was the closest Hammond could get them to a holiday without actually suspending them. He'd only managed to get them to agree when he'd shown Daniel aerial photos of a ruin that was located about 2 kilometres from the 'gate. Daniel's interest had been perked and although Jack resisted, he couldn't say no to Daniel for very long. They'd come though, picked over the ruins and realised that it was all they were, just ruins. There were no signs of writing or culture at all. Daniel couldn't even tell what period the architecture was from. He'd had that sad, hurt puppy look on his face when he'd realised the place was a complete bust and had been the first to suggest they leave, which was a first for him.

They'd been heading back to the 'gate when a ship unlike anything they had ever seen before had buzzed over them, flying low. It had dropped a dark green orb, which had burst upon impact with the ground, and they had been quick to pull on gas masks. It had seemed to have no effect for the first few minutes but Sam had pulled out her instruments and had informed them that the radiation level of the surrounding area had jumped and was only climbing higher. They'd hightailed it back to the 'gate and the DHD had been completely dead and the 'gate lodged in place.

Sam worked in the DHD diligently but it hadn't been panic stations until Daniel had started getting sick. Their masks had seemed to only slow the effects of whatever was released into the atmosphere by the ship and Daniel had been the first to start showing any effect, becoming very ill very fast. Teal'c had retrieved the anti-radiation meds that the Tok'ra had developed from Daniel's pack and had made to inject him with a shot but Jack's past experience made him hesitate allowing it.

"I don't want him to be the guinea pig for that stuff. He's already weak." Jack had snapped when Sam had tried to contradict him. Daniel had passed out a few minutes earlier and his pale skin was slicked with sweat. Teal'c had tried to make him as comfortable as possible but they seemed to be losing him. Jack had never seen Sam so angry and frustrated with him. He'd taken the vial from Teal'c however, filled one of the syringes from their med kit with the opal-coloured liquid and stabbed into his own neck, depressing the plunger with a grimace. "We wait an hour. If it doesn't kill me, you can give it to Daniel." Teal'c and Sam had just watched him, open-mouthed.

Half an hour later Sam had unceremoniously thrown up her breakfast and she thought most of the dinner she'd had the night before. Teal'c had been fine and Jack had been showing no adverse affects. Daniel's breathing had become laboured and they all worried. Teal'c had grabbed the meds and had given Jack a hard look. "We may wait too long." He said. Despite Jack's better judgment, he'd nodded once. Teal'c had given Daniel a shot and then strode over to where Sam had been slumped by a tree. He'd offered her the vial but she'd shaken her head weakly and bared her neck, indicating that Teal'c would need to do it for her. He'd complied silently.

They'd improved very quickly. Daniel had come to and had been able to eat shortly after and Sam was back working on the DHD within the hour. That had been three days ago.

The meds turned out to only be a temporary measure however, and they'd had to keep taking it ever few hours. Although Sam was working with no sleep, they weren't any closer to getting the 'gate active. Teal'c had traveled on foot for six hours, moving away from their current position, but returned to report that there was absolutely no decline in the amount of radiation read, crushing Sam's hope that they would be able to move out of range of the effects and come back when they dissipated. She assumed the effects would still dissipate over time, but not quickly enough to help them.

The radiation was having another unsettling side effect, apart from the illness, which was unpleasant in and of itself. They'd all become increasingly disorientated and Daniel had started hallucinating badly a few hours before. Although they'd doubled his dose, it had only managed to calm him somewhat but not stop the hallucinations entirely.

The worst part was, they were running out of the stuff. Jack had sacrificed his own dosage now the last two times he should have had it, pretending to take some so it would last the others just a little longer, but Sam seemed to have wised up to his actions as his deterioration increased faster than even Daniel's. Sam was calling Teal'c over and Jack wanted to protest but his thoughts wouldn't come together enough for him to order them to stop.

_"Stay inside me." Sam said, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. They were on the decking behind his house, a blanket tossed over them and their bodies pressed together, closer than Jack had ever thought possible. He'd begun to withdraw when they'd both cried out in release but she clutched him to her with arms and legs, holding him in place. "Just this once..." She breathed and the sound tickled his ear and made him smile._

_"I know this isn't real." He said, his callused fingers twining in sun kissed hair to cradle her head against his neck. He could feel her breath against his pulse point and the sensation caused him to quicken once more. Not bad for an old guy, he thought wryly._

_"Why would you say something like that?" Her voice was full of hurt._

_"This is the only place I can have you. Its not enough, but I'll take what I can get." She clutched him tighter and he began to move again. He'd thought he was done but she was like electricity, recharging him. He wished he could tell her, feel her this way. He never could._

_Never._

_"Got it." She said._

_"Got what?"_

"I got it!" Sam's exclamation cut through his reverie like a knife and he blinked blearily. She was slamming parts back into the DHD and as soon as the cover was back on she was dialing. Teal'c had already scooped up Daniel from the ground and was striding toward the Event Horizon as it burst into life. "Sir?" Sam was leaning over him, one hand to his face. She was scooping her arms under his and pulling him from the ground. He didn't remember falling over. "Time to go home." She said, her breath against his ear as she hauled him upright and a thrill chased its way up his spine.

Maybe not never...


End file.
